Amid sex case, David Wu won't seek re-election

CAMPAIGN 2012

Kevin Freking, Associated Press

Published
4:00 am PDT, Tuesday, July 26, 2011

FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2010 file photo, Congressman David Wu, D-Ore., speaks during an interview in Portland, Ore. Wu is calling a published report about an alleged unwanted sexual encounter with a young woman "very serious" but has not yet said whetherthe accusation is true. The Oregonian reports that a young woman from California has accused the Democrat of an unwanted sexual encounter last November. The newspaper said the information came from sources who wanted to remain anonymous. less

FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2010 file photo, Congressman David Wu, D-Ore., speaks during an interview in Portland, Ore. Wu is calling a published report about an alleged unwanted sexual encounter with a young woman ... more

Photo: Don Ryan, AP

Photo: Don Ryan, AP

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FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2010 file photo, Congressman David Wu, D-Ore., speaks during an interview in Portland, Ore. Wu is calling a published report about an alleged unwanted sexual encounter with a young woman "very serious" but has not yet said whetherthe accusation is true. The Oregonian reports that a young woman from California has accused the Democrat of an unwanted sexual encounter last November. The newspaper said the information came from sources who wanted to remain anonymous. less

FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2010 file photo, Congressman David Wu, D-Ore., speaks during an interview in Portland, Ore. Wu is calling a published report about an alleged unwanted sexual encounter with a young woman ... more

Photo: Don Ryan, AP

Amid sex case, David Wu won't seek re-election

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Washington --

Rep. David Wu, accused of an unwanted sexual encounter with an 18-year-old woman, will not seek re-election next year, a spokesman for the Oregon Democrat said Monday.

A few hours after the investigation request, Wu spokesman Erik Dorey told the Associated Press: "He's still determining his political future, but he will not run for re-election. He's fully focused on fulfilling his elected duties and serving his constituents to the best of his duties here in the House."

Wu, in his seventh term, was guaranteed a stiff primary challenge after seven staffers resigned in January because of unusual behavior that included sending a photo of himself in a tiger costume to a staff member and an angry public speech. Wu, 56, attributed those actions to a period of mental health challenges that began in 2008 as marital issues led to separation from his wife.

Those problems paled compared to the potential fallout from the encounter with the young woman. Citing anonymous sources, the Oregonian newspaper reported that Wu told senior aides that the sexual encounter in Southern California was consensual. The paper said the woman is the daughter of a high school friend of Wu's who has donated to the congressman's campaign.

In 2004, Wu won re-election despite acknowledging a decades-old college incident in which he tried to force a former girlfriend to have sex. His opponent in the general election tried to use the report from Wu's undergraduate days at Stanford in 1976 to show Wu wasn't fit to serve. The opponent's tactics were regarded as unseemly, and Wu won re-election handily.

Nearly all the public pressure on Wu to step down was coming from his home state. Potential rivals in the Democratic primary have called on him to resign.

Mary Botkin, a former Democratic National Committee member from Portland, added her name Monday to those calling for his resignation. She said she has known Wu since the 1980s but his credibility was "so severely damaged" that he should step down.

Botkin said Wu's constituents need a "member of Congress who is fully engaged in the issues. I think my friend is not fully engaged."